This is the story of my life, and it is filled with mad, wonderful people, and the love, laughter, and occasional frustration that they bring me.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Mmmmmm, part two

Sorry, forgot to adjust the font size. I'll get back into the swing of this, somehow.

At any rate, once we got settled in and Jim had a nice, long nap, we went for a walk on the beach. After all, you can't have a vacation on the beach and not walk on the sand when you get there, right? So away we went. And let me tell you, it was beautiful. I haven't been to very many beaches, but so far, Myrtle Beach is my favorite. The sand is soft and clean and fine, and the water is so clear and so green and so warm. I hardly knew what to do with myself. Once we'd had a nice stroll, we ate dinner somewhere truly exotic and fascinatingly new--Friendly's. Yeah, let me tell you how Friendly's is a national chain, and we have one all of five minutes from Jim's place up here in Jersey. Still, it was close to our condo, and we knew the food would be good. And besides, we were thoroughly tired, and really just wanted dinner and bed.

A few words about the condo: it was pretty neat. Other than that, I can tell you that it was definitely decorated by a woman, as there were sprays of fake flowers everywhere. At least they were fairly tasteful. There was a master bedroom and a smaller one, each with its own bathroom. We slept in the master bedroom, and basically ignored the second one. I wish we'd been able to convince some friends to come down, too, but I have to say, it was nice to have time just for Jim and me. Soon enough, we'll be sharing an apartment with a friend and trying to make that work without killing each other. So, yeah. This was wonderful. We were on the sixth floor, with a fairly nice view. You could see the ocean, but there were some other hotels between us and the water. The condo building is about a block and a half from the beach, not a long walk at all. The only downside I can really point out is that the kitchen was really terribly stocked. Obviously, there was no food (it is a rental area, we weren't expecting any), and there were lots of dishes--plates, cups, etc. But the pans and pots and spoons and such for actual cookery were just...sad. I guess Jim and I are weird, but we like to cook together. And when you're on vacation, it's nice to be waited on, but it's also pretty cool to cook dinner and eat something you've made. Ah, well.

Most of our time was spend relaxing; we really didn't do much. Don't get me wrong, that's certainly not a problem. We didn't have too many adventures, but the ones we did were pretty great. On our fourth day, we went parasailing. Basically, you get dragged out to a boat on a raft, hooked up to a huge parachute with a couple of feet of straps and some carabiners, and then they let you go. It was awesome to be up in the air, I've always loved being up high. We could see so much of the water, and so far inland. It was rather pleasant, and lots of fun. And yet, my stomach just didn't approve. Let's just say that there was some gastric unpleasantness, and that the crew on the boat brought us in and had us on our way back to the beach and some anti-nausea stuff pretty quickly.

Our other big adventure was mini-golfing. Sure, it doesn't sound very exciting, but the courses down there are so elaborate, so huge, it's always an adventure. We picked one with a silly name and a huge complex, called "Mt. Atlanticus Minotaur Goff" because, well, we're suckers for silly stuff like that. Jim, being somewhat coordinated, likes to play and be competetive. Me, having just enough coordination to walk, and sometimes run (but only in life-or-death situations), I just thwack the ball around til it makes it into the hole. Aim? Nah. I just thwack it. I don't even let it come to rest before I thwack it again, sometimes. Once I even toed it into the hole, when I thought Jim wasn't looking. It's not cheating if we're not keeping score, right?

Other than that, there was a fantastic dinner at a local restaurant called the Aspen Grille. It was definitely a "nice" restaurant, and not one we could normall afford to patronize. But hell, this was vacation, right? The waiter was nice without being obsequious, and the food was phenomenal. We started with a bruschetta which was tasty, and just a bit sweeter than we were used to, then Jim enjoyed his NY strip steak mightily. I opted for the surf'n'turf, and I enjoyed every bite of that filet and the lobster (surf and turf is a smallish filet mignon and a lobster tail, along with some sides and some pretty garnish-y things). The presentation was gorgeous, I almost felt bad taking it apart to eat it. And yet, it went down pretty easy. We split some bananas foster for dessert (bananas sauteed with butter, brown sugar, banana liquer, and grand mariner, then served with ice cream), and feeling stuffed, headed back to the condo to change and take a stroll on the beach.

I feel not at all guilty about the food we ate down there (not what one would normally consider healthy, balanced meals--we had cheese fries and ice cream for lunch at least once), because we did a lot of walking on the beach and on the strand. We stayed up late watching movies, slept in every morning, and then took naps. We wandered on the beach, we wandered in the town. We used copious amounts of sunblock. All in all, it was a fantastic week, and I have no regrets, nothing I would've changed. Okay, I lied. I would totally have gotten Momolla something made of shells, or maybe a hanging thing with lots of dangly shells. Except, of course, that Jim wouldn't let me, as we've been informed that such a gift would actually be considered an act of war, and met with extreme retaliation. At any rate, it was a fantastic trip, but it's good to be home now, where there's an internet connection. Oh, and my family and friends. Them, too.

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About Me

This is the story of me! I'm a young woman living in Pennsylvania and surrounded by wonderful, crazy, odd, colorful people who I love dearly. I love to laugh and to knit and especially to read. Music is my lifeblood, whether I'm listening to it or playing it. I'm a walking anti-stereotype. I'm a smart blonde, a fraternity woman who isn't a promiscuous lush, a young knitter, and a woman who knows more about engines than lots of men. I'm friendly and neurotic and real, stop by and leave me a comment if you have the urge to chat.

The List! 101 Things in 1001 Days

The Schooling:1. Go back to school at least part time in fall of 2009. changed to fall of 2010, due to alien spine baby insanity.2. bring all my student loans current and pay my accounts down as much as possible

The House:3. Clean the library, determining what is trash and what should stay X4. Organize the books in the library so that they are displayed and accessible and so that you can actually sit somewhere in the room to read.5. Paint the library and find a suitable rug and chair/small sofa for the room.6. Paint the living room and front room7. Paint the office8. Determine which plants in the yard should be pulled, pruned, or saved and do so X9. Plant something that flowers and is pretty in the yard X10. Find or buy attractive, comfortable furniture for the yard and the porch X11. Rescue the tree growing next to the house, plant it somewhere safe X12. Clean/organize the basement so that things can be stored and accessed easily.13. Re-finish the kitchen table and chairs gave them to kate instead.14. Re-finish all the woodwork the crazy woman painted white15. Find/buy chairs/sofa/seating for front room16. Create and maintain a fair chore rotation17. Buy new mattress, box spring, and bed frame.

The Me, Practically:18. Create a budget, possibly with Jim's input, to be followed strictly and reviewed and updated every three months19. For six months, cook at least on real, balanced meal per week (24/24) X20. Find a job that is compatible with my goals and skills and has a normal scheduleX21. Write a will22. Designate power of attorney23. Write a living will24. Make peace with myself, my life, my failures, and my successes.25. Have an educated, well-argued opinion on current events/issues26. Find/rent/buy software and improve my Spanish to conversational level27. Find/rent/buy software and learn a little French28. Read the Sunday Inquirer every week for a year (0/52)29. Spend at least half an hour twice a week exercising, doing yoga X30. Research fair trade products and, where possible, gradually switch over31. Purchase more re-usable shopping bags and recycle the plastic ones in the kitchen X32. Buy tires for the Jeep X33. Buy shocks for the Jeep X34. Switch my registration to PA by September 30, 2008 X35. Switch my license to PA by September 30, 2008 X36. Open a savings account as an emergency fund and build it to at least $50037. Celebrate Earth Hour each year38. Blog at least once a week for three months straight (0/12)39. Write one entry in my journal a week for six months straight (0/24)40. Meditate on my beliefs and design a system of worship/praise41. Initiate myself into my faith42. Practice my beliefs actively43. Donate blood

The Me, Whimsically:44. Learn to ride a bike45. Using money I've budgeted, buy myself some great new clothes to wear when I'm not at work46. Play my flute at least once a month for six months (1/6)47. Buy/send myself flowers at least three times (1/3)48. Plan and spend a day at a spa, being pampered49. Read six fiction classics I've never read (o/6)50. Read five non-fiction books (0/5)51. Stock the bar and learn to make fun cocktails with coll52. Spend at least half an hour outside once per week for twelve months (0/48)53. Plan one birthday party for myselfX54. Try a vegetarian diet for a week55. Bake something entirely from scratch X56. Buy at least two cookbooks, one of them to be written by Nigella (0/2)57. Take myself on a date to dinner or a movie, and enjoy the time out alone58. Develop the cameras/film I have sitting around59. Put the pictures in the office into albums60. Share any good pictures with those interested61. Buy an MP3 player X

Friends & Family62. Plan a black-tie themed tea party for my girl friends63. Take Jim to a fancy restaurant to celebrate us X64. Travel to a different country with Jim65. Go to a makeup counter with Coll and get makeovers66. E-mail Ashley at least once per month every month for a year (0/12)67. Call a friend once a week to talk, every week for a year (6/52)68. Give ten gifts just because (2/10)69. Plan one surprise birthday party70. Go camping for a weekend or longer with Jim or other friends71. Do something competitive (pool, mini golf, bowling) with Jim 5 times (0/5)72. Have at least six girl dates/girls' nights with friends from home (3/6)73. Have a sleepover with Amy, Kely, and Melissa74. Have my family (or at least my parents) over for lunch/dinner 10 times (4/10)75. Have Plum family over for dinner76. Plan an awesome week-long vacation for me and Jim77. Watch fireworks with Jim X

Crafty, crafty78. Find or design a pattern for Melissa's wedding shawl X made shawl for Bridget, since wasn't invited to Melissa's wedding.79. Buy yarn, needles, etc. for shawl X80. Knit shawl in a timely manner X81. Buy needles and knit the sweater that's living in the bag on my floor82. Buy fabric and make curtains for the bedroom, front rooms, and library83. Knit a pair of socks in less than a month84. Knit at least six items for the charity/charities of my choice (0/6)85. Buy, trade for or find a spinning wheel X86. Learn to spin X87. Learn about plant dyes and try them on yarn/fleece88. Find a knitting group, join, and attend at least one meeting per month